Final Duties
by tiny.sakura
Summary: All Sakura wanted was to die after hiding all her scars. Neji was fine with staying dead as he had fulfilled his final duty. They never expected to meet here- in limbo, but they did. WARNING: mentions of non-con but not explicit.


Haruno Sakura died at the age of 25. Right on the day of her birthday, in fact. Sakura had suffered much too long and too much.

But, still, Haruno Sakura wanted to die.

When she awoke once more she was met with a cloudy, greyed mist that left her feeling cold. Was this what death was like? She walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, no time passed here, there was no fatigue of her long walking, there was nothing in death but this grey cloud that hugged her cold body.

She was just about ready to give up when she spotted someone meditating. The long brown hair made them seem almost female, but Sakura knew better than her imagination. "Neji?" her voice called out warily. "I-is that you?" Her slender arms wrapped around her torso tighter.

Maybe she wouldn't be wandering for the rest of her life.

Maybe this is what Kami had in store for her.

"Sakura," he responded. He fully turned his seated body to face her. His eyes were just as pearly as she remembered.

The soft smile that rested on her lips made her heart soar- he was finally happy. No, she hadn't loved him, and no she didn't want to pursue him like Tenten so desired too, but he was happy. After being in pain for so long, he was happy. And for that, she could be happy too.

Maybe she could forget everything that had weighed her down. Maybe she could grow to accept her fate- which Neji had defied his whole life. "Where are we?" Her eyes searched around them, trying to find something in this constant fog. Her eyes misted over as she remembered what had happened when she died. She wanted to forget.

"I'm not sure, but I had been here for years," his statement was simple- straight to the point. Yet, he was so much more open. His voice hummed in amusement.

Was this what it was like to be truly happy?

"I'm assuming you passed in the war as well." His voice brought her back down from her thoughts. "How was the outcome looking from when you died?"

Ah, his thoughts never leaving the world she had tried so hard to get away from.

Did he have unfinished business there?

"The war had just ended. Naruto and Sasuke were going at it when I passed." Her voice was solemn. She hadn't wanted to leave it the way she did- but she can't go back and change everything now, could she? Emerald eyes peered over at her partner for the rest of eternity.

Milky eyes gazed at her form, troubled. He had a long time to think about what he had done, what he had gone through, what he had accomplished and strived for. He was happy with his outcome, wasn't she? "Forgive me for asking, but how long did the war go on for?"

She hummed in thought, "seven years had passed after your death. The war had taken a great toll on everyone who survived." Her eyes turned glassy as she looked away from the seated boy. She sighed heavily and sat across from him- a respectable distance away, but in her personal space anyways. She needed this. "A lot of people were gone, Neji. I couldn't save so many of them…" her voice trailed off. The rosette hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in between them.

She couldn't face him, someone who had given their life to save another. Someone so selfless and kind. She was the exact opposite, Cold-hearted, tired, worn, and selfish beyond belief. Why else would someone do what she had done? Why else would someone want to die when she had some much left to live for. Had she had much left to live for? She couldn't finish that thought. She wouldn't let herself dwell on the what if's the could've been's. This was the path she had chosen. She was the path with no do-overs.

"It's not your fault. You're only human," his voice was so soft and tender. When had he gotten so kind?

Her chapped lips formed a weak smile. Her spring green eyes were glazed and ready to shed unfallen tears. She wouldn't let herself have this. Not after what she had done. Not with the way that she left things. She couldn't give herself this luxury.

"It's alright to be upset. No one asked for this war. No one wanted to fight for what had seemed like a lost cause. Death is inevitable."

Maybe this was the Neji she had remembered. Always blunt and straight to the point. Yes, this is what she needed. She needed to see the truth with her own damn eyes.

"I wanted to die," she confessed softly.

"You got your wish," he replied. His eyebrows furrowed in thought, "how had you died, Sakura?"

A wet smile shone on her tear-streaked face. Stupid, she was stupid for crying. "I jumped in front of Naruto and Sasuke's final attacks towards each other." She took a deep breath, trying to forcefully calm herself, "they were going to kill each other, I did what I had to."

"That seems like a rather selfless way to die. You may have wished for death but you saved the lives you cared for most."

He was right. She cared for her boys the most. She had lost so damn much, but Naruto and Sasuke were her damn world. Even Kakashi-sensei didn't compare to her boys. Was that fucked up? Was trying to stop those two boys from killing each other worth it? What if she only prolonged their battle. Would they go at each other's necks another time? Would her sacrifice be in vain?

Sacrifice. What a noble way to call an assisted suicide something other than what it was. "I jumped into their final attacks. I used them as a form of suicide." Her voice grew even softer, "There is nothing selfless about that."

"Perhaps," he replied after some time. "But maybe that's why we are here," Neji gestured with his arms to the sea of fog around them. "Maybe we're here because we left the world wishing to protect the ones we loved."

Sakura nodded absentmindedly. He was trying to make her feel better, she knew that. But her grief was too strong. Her grief surrounded her and choked her unlike the coolness of the fog around them.

She found herself gazing into his eyes once more, "does it ever get better?"

What an idiotic thing to say. They're dead, what does it matter if they feel better eventually?

Neji nodded softly, his brown hair never once moving from its neat place down his back. "It does." His heart had grown even softer in death. "And you will heal and be able to face your demons that you left behind." His hand took hers and squeezed it firmly. He knew that she needed this reassurance. He also knew that she would gladly take it.

"I wanted to die long before the war was coming to an end," she swallowed, not noticing that she no longer carried saliva in this body. "Too much had happened, too much bad had gone down."

Neji watched her, staying silent as she continued. She needed this, after all.

"I had been pregnant when Kiba saw me last," she closed her eyes, trying to get rid of the sight of Kiba carrying in more dead bodies. Bodies of people she had seen around Konoha, around Suna, around the battlefield. "It… it wasn't m-my choice," her voice was barely above a whisper. Fresh tears began falling.

Neji looked downward, Sakura had been through too much. Much more than he had been through.

"Madara… he held me for over 24 hours. Never once stopping, never leaving me alone, never once letting me cry alone," her voice hiccupped a little. "It hurt so damn much." The rosette took a deep breath, she could do this. This was a part of healing. This is how she was going to be able to let go.

"When I found out I was pregnant I didn't know what to do. All I could think about was not letting another person down," Sakura wiped some of her tears with the back of her hand. "I let my team down, I let Tsunade-shisou down, Shizune-sempai, everyone I loved and cared about… How was I supposed to face someone and know that they were the result of me wanting to die? I couldn't, I just couldn't-" Sakura sobbed heavily.

Emerald eyes widened and she felt her body being pushed into her eternal partner's chest. Neji's arms wrapped around her protectively. He didn't dare speak a word, he didn't want to scare her away from what she needed to do to help herself heal. If she wanted to continue talking, he'd let her, if she wanted to never bring it up again- he'd be perfectly fine with that too. Spending what felt like 80 years in this limbo-area urged a sense of calm over him. He had his time to be angry with himself, to be angry at the world. He could let Sakura be angry at the world for now. She deserved this.

After some time Sakura's tears began to slow, her eyes remained clear and green as always. Thank Kami limbo didn't make her an ugly crier again. She could live through with this, she could do this.

"I was attacked three weeks later. Stabbed through the stomach..." Her voice hardened and trailed off once more. "I didn't know what to do, I had just lost something I had no control over and had no idea if I even wanted it." The word it was spat out in disgust. She didn't deserve to be a mother and she didn't even know if she wanted it to live. How much of a horrible person was she?

Neji still hugged her tightly against his chest. She gave up her life just like he had given up his. In a way, she saved herself from pain, and in a way, she saved Sasuke and Naruto. They were the most important to her and they were all that mattered. He knew tunnel vision when he saw it. He spewed shit about fate for some damn long and he ended up fucking living it. Ironic- definitely. But he had lived while he was alive. He chased his goals and dreams and worked hard to make a name for himself.

Haruno Sakura had done the same, and no one ever watched her stumble or fall in the process of it. Sure, they saw her walk around the village sore and tired, but where were they when she lost her composure? Who did she go to when she cried? He had his team to fall back on. Hell, all of Konoha 12 had their team to fall back on except for her. Her team had left her to her own devices. Even Kakashi had disappeared when Sakura needed him. And yet, they all turned a blind eye to it. He saw it when the Yamanaka heiress confronted her about the chunin exams. Had she been checking on her before then?

It saddened him to know that he had no idea what had happened to her during those years. He wasn't there for her before. He could be here for now.

He doesn't know how long they stayed in this position. It could've been a year for all they knew. Sakura's tears had dried up quite some time ago but neither of them decided to break their embrace. They both needed this.

"**Fate grants what those deserve,**" a voice boomed.

The loudness of it broke Sakura and Neji apart as they jumped to their feet. Ninjas never lost their reflexes it seemed. They shared a tense look and stood back to back, hands up to their defensive positions.

"**Don't fear what those would pray for and pray to,**" the voice called again. The lightness of it made it seem female.

"Who are you?" called out the brunette of the duo.

Sakura's hands dropped to her sides. "Inner?" Sakura held her hands to her chest after a beat of silence. "Inner, is that you?"

The loud voice chuckled softly. "**It's been a long time, Sakura.**"

Neji cast a confused glance at Sakura. Who? Hie eyes seemed to ask. Sakura smiled brightly at him, the first real smile in a long time. "She's someone I had with me for a long time." She turned her eyes out to the fog in front of her. "I've missed you," her voice softened. Sakura truly had missed her Inner. She had stuck with Sakura for so long, had been with her as she grew up, as she worked herself to death with Tsunade-shisou.

"**I wish to grant you something my world thinks you deserve.**" You could hear the smile on her lips even though she was nowhere to be found.

"Your world?" Sakura asked curiously. Had she always been separate from each other? She missed her old times, with Inner around. She had become another her, or maybe a sister of sorts. But during the war is where Sakura needed Inner the most. That's when she felt her lowest, where she felt empty inside and out.

A soft sigh escaped from the mist around them, "**I'm sorry I left you by yourself Sakura.**" Inner knew where her train of thought was going and she didn't like it. "**Hyuga Neji, Haruno Sakura, I can offer you a choice. A second chance, if you will. I want you to pick one of the two options, there will nothing else here for you. You have a choice- both of you.**"

Were they truly going to be given another chance? A do-over in life? Was her life even worth that much? She looked over and Neji and grasped his hand, knowing that their choices would change everything. She nodded to him in understanding. He responded with his own nod.

"**Your choice: Will you go right where nothing is left, or will you go left where nothing is right?**" A sizzling sound encasing them, knowing that their time left here was drawing near.

"Left."

"Right."

Watery green eyes met soft pearl ones.

"Neji, thank you."

"Anything for you, Sakura."

* * *

**This is my prequel to my Sakura's Chance at Redemption Series that I've started on AO3. Hopefully, my cross-over fans would like this!**


End file.
